Ephesians 1

Salutation

1 From Paul,t an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, to the saints [in Ephesus],ss the faithfult in Christ Jesus.

2 Grace and peace to yout from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!

Spiritual Blessings in Christ

3 Blesseds ist the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessedt us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms in Christ.4 Fort he chose us in Christt before the foundation of the world that we may be holy and unblemisheds in his sightt in love.t5 He did this by predestiningts us to adoption as hist sonsts through Jesus Christ, according to the pleasuret of his will –6 to the praise of the glory of his gracet that he has freely bestowed on us in his dearly loved Son.tss7 In himt we have redemption through his blood,s the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace8 that he lavished on us in all wisdom and insight.9 He did this when he revealedt to us the secrett of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set fortht in Christ,ts10 toward the administration of the fullness of the times, to head upt all things in Christ – the things in heavent and the things on earth.s11 In Christt we too have been claimed as God’s own possession,ts since we were predestined according to the one purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to the counsel of his will12 so that we, who were the first to set our hopet on Christ,t would be to the praise of his glory.13 And whent you heard the word of truth (the gospel of your salvation) – when you believed in Christt – you were marked with the sealt of the promised Holy Spirit,t

14 who is the down paymentts of our inheritance, until the redemption of God’s own possession,t to the praise of his glory.

Prayer for Wisdom and Revelation

15 For this reason,s because It have heardt of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your loves for all the saints,16 I do not cease to give thanks for you when I remember yout in my prayers.17 I pray thatt the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory,t may give you spiritual wisdom and revelationt in your growing knowledge of him,tsss18 – since the eyes of yourst heart have been enlightenedt – so that you may know what is the hope of his calling,tssss what is the wealth of his glorioust inheritance in the saints,19 and what is the incomparablet greatness of his power towardt us who believe, as displayed int the exercise of his immense strength.ts20 This powert he exercisedt in Christ when he raised himt from the dead and seated hims at his right hand in the heavenly realmss21 far above every rule and authority and power and dominion and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.22 And Godtputtall things under Christ’stfeet,s and he gave him to the church as head over all things.t

23 Now the church ist his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.ts

Ephesians 2

New Life Individually

1 And although you weret deads in your transgressions and sins,2 in whichs you formerly livedts according to this world’s present path,ts according to the ruler of the kingdomt of the air, the ruler oft the spirits that is now energizingt the sons of disobedience,s

3 among whoms all of ust alsot formerly lived out our lives in the cravings of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and the mind, and were by nature children of wraths even as the rest…s
4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of his great love with which he loved us,5 even though we were dead in transgressions, made us alive together with Christ – by grace you are saved!t –6 and he raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,7 to demonstrate in the coming agest the surpassing wealth of his grace in kindness towardt us in Christ Jesus.8 For by grace you are savedt through faith,s and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God;9 it is not fromt works, so that no one can boast.t

10 For we are his workmanship, having been created in Christ Jesus for good works that God prepared beforehand so we may do them.ts

New Life Corporately

11 Therefore remember that formerly you, the Gentiles in the flesh – who are called “uncircumcision” by the so-called “circumcision” that is performed on the bodyt by human hands –12 that you were at that time without the Messiah,t alienated from the citizenship of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise,t having no hope and without God in the world.13 But now in Christ Jesus you who used to be far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.ts14 For he is our peace, the one who made both groups into onet and who destroyed the middle wall of partition, the hostility,15 when he nullifiedt in his flesh the law of commandments in decrees. He did this to create in himself one new mant out of two,t thus making peace,16 and to reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by which the hostility has been killed.t17 And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near,18 so thatt through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.19 So then you are no longer foreigners and noncitizens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of God’s household,20 because you have been builtt on the foundation of the apostles and prophets,s with Christ Jesus himself ast the cornerstone.t21 In himt the whole building,st being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord,

22 in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

Ephesians 3

Paul's Relationship to the Divine Mystery

1 For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesuss for the sake of you Gentiles –2 if indeeds you have heard of the stewardshipt of God’s grace that was given to me for you,3 thatt by revelation the divine secrett was made known to me, as I wrote before briefly.ts4 When reading this,t you will be able tot understand my insight into this secrett of Christ.5 Now this secrett was not disclosed to peoplet in formert generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets byt the Spirit,6 namely, that through the gospels the Gentiles are fellow heirs, fellow memberst of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus.7 I became a servant of this gospelt according to the gift of God’s grace that was given to me byt the exercise of his power.s8 To me – less than the least of all the saintss – this grace was given,s to proclaim to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ9 and to enlightent everyone about God’s secret plant – a secret that has been hidden for agest in Godt who has created all things.10 The purpose of this enlightenment is thatt through the church the multifaceted wisdomt of God should now be disclosed to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly realms.11 This was according tot the eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord,12 in whom we have boldness and confident accesst to Godt because oft Christ’st faithfulness.ts

13 For this reason I ask yout not to lose heart because of what I am suffering for you,t whichs is your glory.t

Prayer for Strengthened Love

14 For this reasons I kneelt before the Father,s15 fromt whom every familyt in heaven and on the earth is named.16 I pray thatt according to the wealth of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner person,17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, so that, because you have been rooted and grounded in love,18 you may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth,s

19 and thus to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled up tot all the fullness of God.
20 Now to him who by the power that is working within uss is able to do far beyondt all that we ask or think,

21 to him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.